Various plastic compressor housings are known from the prior art. For example, DE 103 14 209 B3 describes a housing for a radial flow compressor that is produced from two housing parts made of a thermosetting plastic, in particular injection-molded. However, a thermosetting plastic housing has the disadvantage that it can be easily destroyed, in particular when employed in a turbocharger housing, if a fan impeller splinters in the turbocharger housing. Not only does this involve the risk of damage to a motor vehicle in which the turbocharger is installed, but also creates a risk of injury to people.
Furthermore, DE 101 12 764 discloses a radial flow compressor housing that comprises thermoplastic. However, it has been demonstrated that a thermoplastic housing is not suitable for use as a turbocharger housing due to inadequate stability.
Furthermore known from the prior art are plastic compressor housings that include at least two components. Thus, DE 27 06 110 A1 discloses a compressor housing for exhaust turbochargers. The compressor housing comprises a light metal, ferritic materials, or plastic, at least a portion of one wall of the compressor housing being provided with a cast reinforcement or a reinforcement placed thereover. However, it is a disadvantage in this compressor housing that it is not possible to create it from a thermosetting plastic component and a thermoplastic component, which is preferable in particular for reasons of weight. Thus a thermosetting plastic body must be tempered at high temperature, which prohibits processing together with a thermoplastic reinforcement. On the other hand, sliding a thermoplastic reinforcement over a thermosetting plastic body does not lead to a sustainable bond between the two components.
Furthermore, DE 10 2006 010 461.7-15, commonly owned by the assignee of the present application, suggests a plastic compressor housing in which a thermosetting plastic body is at least partially covered in a hood-like fashion by a thermoplastic body. Although this compressor housing has basically proved itself, it has been demonstrated that the structural strength of the plastic compressor housing in the most extreme load situations can be further improved.